Probot was a heavy metal side project of ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo
Fighters rhythm guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. Described by
Grohl as "a death metal Supernatural," the album mixes instrumentals
recorded by Grohl himself with various metal singers whom the musician
admired. The album was released in February 2004 by Southern Lord
Records. It featured one single entitled "Centuries of Sin"/"The
Emerald Law".

Background[edit]
After years of popularity in the alternative rock scene, Dave Grohl
wanted to express the passion for heavy metal he bore since his youth.
He mentioned the catalyst of the experience being during the first leg
of the tour in support of the Foo Fighters album There Is Nothing Left
to Lose, with the mellower songs making him think about the heavier
bands he used to listen to. Following the tour, Grohl went to his
house in Alexandria, Virginia, to record some heavier songs in his
home studio Studio 606 with Adam Kasper. Grohl would play with his
Gibson Explorer as he watched TV with Kasper, and once he got a riff
that interested him, he would bring Kasper along to the basement,
recording a drum arrangement followed by bass and guitar.[1] Each
instrumental would take about 45 minutes to complete. Grohl said that
he did not intend to make an album out of the recordings - "I didn’t
even call them songs because they were bare instrumentals with no
intention of putting vocals on them and no direction as an actual
song."[2] After four days of recording, Grohl and Kasper had done
seven tracks, with Grohl making some copies out of the master tape
before labeling it Probot to distinguish from the Foo Fighters'
work.[1]

Dave Grohl played the majority of instruments on the album, including
all of the drum tracks.

Some time later, inspired by the Santana album Supernatural, Grohl
decided to attempt collaborations with singers he had idolized.[3] He
came up with "my wish list of all of my favorite singers from this era
which is '82 to '89 underground metal, and all the bands I listened to
at the time: Eric Wagner from Trouble, Snake from Voivod, Cronos [from
Venom], Lemmy and Wino," and started contacting the musicians,[4] some
of whom were reached by Grohl's friend Matt Sweeney given the Foo
Fighters had restarted their tour.[1] Grohl feared his fame built out
of being "a stupid, middle-of-the-road, alternative-rock idiot" could
drive the metal singers away, but many agreed immediately.[3] Cronos
would later explain that "I'm open for everything. And Dave's cool,"
detailing that Grohl's email opened with "a real fan letter" where he
mentioned his longtime appreciation of Venom, and then explained about
his idea of a metal album with all his metal heroes "to get something
off his chest."[5]
Seeing the positive response, Grohl brought Kasper and Sweeney back to
do five more instrumental tracks and round out the project.[3]
According to Grohl, the songs sent to Eric Wagner and King Diamond had
been previously done for Ozzy Osbourne as he was contacted to write
for the then-upcoming Down to Earth, but when Osbourne's label did not
respond, he repurposed them for Probot.[6] Sweeney would organize the
project as Grohl toured with the Foo Fighters, getting vocalists on
board and organizing tracks.[7] Then the demo tapes were sent to the
singers, each of whom was asked to come up with lyrics, record them
and then title the song.[8] Cronos detailed he wrote three different
versions so Grohl could choose one.[5]
Production and style[edit]

From top to bottom: Kim Thayil and Matt Sweeney played additional
guitar parts on the album. Cronos and Lemmy played bass guitar on the
songs they sang, while Wino and Jack Black played guitar on the tracks
on which they sang.

On the album, Grohl teamed up with heavy metal vocalists from 1980s
and 1990s bands who influenced his musical tastes while he was growing
up. Similar to 1995's Foo Fighters, Grohl wrote all of the music and
performed most of the instrumentation. Each track on the album
features a different lead singer including Lemmy, Max Cavalera, King
Diamond and Tom Warrior. Grohl described the sequencing as "like a
compilation tape that I would have made as a kid."[9]
Only Lemmy and Wino visited Studio 606 to record, with all the others
sending tapes from studio to studio until the album was finished.
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil plays additional guitar on two tracks
thanks to Kasper, who had brought the Probot tapes to Seattle and they
attracted Thayil's interest. Grohl was pleased with the addition as
Thayil had more experience with lead guitars, while Grohl was "more
about the riff and the rhythm".[1] A bonus track titled "I Am The
Warlock" was provided by comedian/actor/musician Jack Black. According
to Black, who described the song as "a homage to 'Iron Man.'" after
Grohl approached him regarding writing lyrics, his spouse Tanya Haden
suggested "it should be about a fucked up relationship," so Black made
it about a warlock.[10]
Grohl also approached death metal legend Chuck Schuldiner of Death to
contribute to Probot. However, Schldiner was struggling with brain
cancer and was unable to be involved despite the efforts of Grohl and
others to raise funds for his medical treatment.[11] Grohl also
attempted to get Slayer's lead singer Tom Araya on the album, but he
was unable due to scheduling conflicts.[12] To replace him, Grohl
invited Kurt Brecht from D.R.I.[13] Grohl mentioned he and Sweeney had
discussed and considered a lot of different singers, including the
retired Jeff Becerra of Possessed, Chuck Billy from Testament,
Pantera's Phil Anselmo, and the vocalists from Kreator, Destruction,
Hirax and Candlemass.[6] Sweeney vetoed Unleashed's Johnny Hedlund,
who at the time was rumored to be a Nazi sympathizer.[14]
In a 2007 interview for Guitar World magazine, Grohl was asked about
the future of Probot. He explained that the idea behind Probot was to
choose his favorite vocalists that inspired him when he was a
teenager. Grohl said that he does not think that he will do it again,
because he does not want to go outside of that idea.[15]
Release[edit]
Despite Grohl's label Roswell having a deal with RCA Records, he knew
such an unorthodox project featuring cult musicians of the past would
not be easily accepted by major labels. RCA was interested at first,
but later Grohl decided to follow the spirit of the original bands "on
independent, punk-rock do it yourself labels."[9] So Grohl's friend
Pete Stahl, with whom he had played in Scream and was then in the band
Goatsnake, suggested the label of his bandmate Greg Anderson, the
smaller metal-based Southern Lord Records.[16]
The album is available as a single CD and a double LP (available on
red and black vinyl). Southern Lord released a double A-sided single,
"Centuries of Sin/The Emerald Law" in a limited edition of 6,666 on 7"
vinyl only. It is available on black, green, red & red/black swirl
vinyl, and sold out shortly after release.[17] The album artwork was
created by musician Away (Michel Langevin) of Voivod.[13]
Reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating

Allmusic
[18]

Blender
[19]

Entertainment Weekly
B− [20]

Pitchfork Media
7.0/10[21]

PopMatters
favorable[22]

Rolling Stone
[23]

Spin
[24]

Stylus Magazine
A[25]

Critical reception to the Probot album was largely positive with few
recurring complaints; Metacritic shows a 72/100 critic rating based on
21 reviews. Rolling Stone declared it as "the year's first great metal
album," while Blender reported, "Unlike similar records... this has a
unity of aesthetic purpose, a competitive wallop, even (kind of) a
seriousness."
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly gave Probot a B− rating. He
notes, "For a lark, it aims for (and hits) a few bull's-eyes,
including the whiplashing 'The Emerald Law' and the post-apocalyptic
death march 'Ice Cold Man'." However, Browne comments how the mystery
and thrill of vintage metal bands is "largely gone" with many lyrics
on Probot sounding "more amusing than menacing" and even
"unintentionally funny." He sums it up as "lying somewhere between
homage and howler."
Probot earned an A rating in Stylus magazine as well as the title of
StylusMagazine.com's Album of the Week for February 8–14, 2004.
Scott McKeating's extensive review describes how "Probot balances the
grit with the sonic polish without lapsing into Metallica's Metallica.
This is metal that demands banging, shaking and stamping." He commends
the ambition of its overall conception, noting, "Very few [artists] go
as far as Grohl and actually create something vital and new in their
mid-thirties from their teenage obsessions. . . Probot is an
inspirational record in every sense."
Adrien Begrand of PopMatters describes it as "One of the coolest ideas
for an album in a long time, Grohl has put together a record that not
only serves as a sincere tribute to the metal and hardcore bands of
his youth, but features all his favorite vocalists as well." He gave a
favorable review but heavily discussed Grohl's guitar skills and
songwriting as lacking: "The biggest problem on the album is Grohl's
complete lack of inventiveness as a guitar player. . . Had Dave Grohl
used more guest musicians instead of trying to do everything himself,
Probot would have been much better." Despite these criticisms, Begrand
considers it "impossible not to like this album, mistakes and all."
Awarding a 4/5 rating, Allmusic's Alex Henderson emphasizes the wide
variety of genres featured on Probot and adds, "Whatever the style of
metal that he is embracing, Grohl's drumming is passionate throughout
this fine album, which is as rewarding as it is unpredictable."
"Shake Your Blood"[edit]
Although Grohl recorded the guitar and drums himself, Lemmy performed
his own bass and wrote the lyrics to "Shake Your Blood". He noted, "I
wrote the lyrics in about ten minutes. . . It's rock & roll, you
know. It's not one of those complicated things."[4] The song bears
strong resemblance to Lemmy's style and was considered "a terrific
Motörhead clone" by Adrien Begrand of PopMatters.
The "Shake Your Blood" music video was filmed in November 2003 and
released shortly thereafter. It features an appearance by 66 women
from the SuicideGirls adult entertainment website. The music video
also appears on the extras section on the movie SuicideGirls: The
First Tour. In the video, the band is represented with Dave Grohl on
drums, Lemmy on lead vocals and bass, and Wino (who sang on the Probot
track "The Emerald Law") on lead guitar. Lemmy regarded the
performance as "just like a tour in the '60s, when things were a lot
more fun."[4]
Live performances[edit]
Foo Fighters performed "Shake Your Blood" live with Lemmy at their
2006 Hyde Park (UK) show, and in June 18, 2011 at Foo Fighters concert
in Berlin. "My Tortured Soul" was performed live on Headbangers' Ball
in 2004, with Eric Wagner on lead vocals, Grohl on drums, Wino on lead
guitar, Greg Anderson (of Goatsnake and Sunn O)))) on rhythm guitar,
and Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz on bass guitar. This
performance is available on the compilation album MTV2 Headbangers
Ball, Vol. 2. Soulfly has also been known to play "Red War" live as
recently as 2009.[26] "Ice Cold Man" has also been played by Cathedral
on their 2004 tour. "Centuries of Sin" has also been played by Venom
on their 2009 tour in South America.
Track listing[edit]

7.
"The Emerald Law" (feat. Wino of Saint Vitus and The Obsessed)
5:33

8.
"Big Sky" (feat. Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost)
4:51

9.
"Dictatosaurus" (feat. Snake of Voivod)
3:52

10.
"My Tortured Soul" (feat. Eric Wagner of Trouble)
5:00

11.
"Sweet Dreams" (feat. King Diamond of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate,
and Kim Thayil of Soundgarden; the song "Sweet Dreams" ends at minute
5:26. After minutes and 30 seconds of silence, at minute 8:56 begins
the hidden song "I Am the Warlock", featuring Jack Black of Tenacious
D)